Traffic chaos gets out of hand at key crossing

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">KOLKATA: It’s a running nightmare for those whose lives pass through the traffic mess at Park Circus 7-point crossing twice a day. A glut of delayed projects — chiefly on Syed Amir Ali Avenue — and the absence of traffic lights have turned the most chaotic traffic crossings into the most maddening.<br /><br />The traffic police have virtually thrown up their hands despair as the situation worsens every day.<br /><br />A livid DC (traffic) Peeyush Pandey says the police won’t grant permission to any more projects.They have already refused permission for the concretisation of the tramtracks at Park Circus crossing.<br /><br />"We could have agreed if the work was done in phases but the construction agency wants to do the entire stretch one go. We cannot block the point crossing for even an hour," a traffic officer said.<br /><br />The absence of traffic lights compounds the mess. The traffic police insist HRBC was sup-posed to install the signals, but the latter passes the buck back to the police. "The traffic police were supposed to sit with us to prepare a proper blueprint for the somewhat complicated signalling system. After initial meetings, they did not follow up the matter," said an official.<br /><br />The situation has turned even worse in the last fortnight.<br /><br />Road-widening work on the stretch between Park Circus and Bridge 4 and Syed Amir Ali Avenue, and the tram-concretisation project have undone the traffic circulation plan.<br /><br />From Ballygunge Phari to Park Circus tram depot, the footpath has vanished. The three-lane carriageway on both sides of the tram track is reduced to a single-lane, thanks to the debris heaped on the roads.<br /><br />The Park Circus connector-Bridge 4-AJC Bose Road flyover is the most-used eastwest axis of the city. Once traffic system collapse here, the entire city is affected.<br /><br />"Even the very idea of taking Sayed Amir Ali Avenue makes me shudder. Forget the chaos during the day, the road sees traffic snarls even at 1 am," said Kallol Mukherjee, an MNC senior executive.<br /><br /><formid=526372></formid=526372></div> </div>